PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND DATA ON OBESITY

That this House is alarmed by data published by Public Health England on 4 February 2014 which reveals that 64 per cent of adults in England and Wales are either obese or overweight; notes that the worst affected area was Copeland, Cumbria with 75.9 per cent of the population above a healthy weight and that even the slimmest authority, Kensington and Chelsea, is 46 per cent overweight; further notes the findings of an earlier study by charity UK Active which suggested that sedentary lifestyles are responsible for 17 per cent of all premature deaths in the UK; recognises that the Government's over-reliance on the Responsibility Deal is limiting its approach to tackling the obesity epidemic; and calls on the Government to set up a cross-departmental working group to maximise the response to obesity before it overwhelms the NHS.